Seeding- machine



(No Model.)

J. I'LPURDY 8v C. T, WELCH.

` SEEDING MACHINE;

Patented Nov. 2o, 1383.

/mwses:

/MW WWE@ JAMES H. PURDY ANI) CHARLES T.

SEEDING- lPATniwr GFFICE.

wnLcH, or BELLONA, New Yoan.

MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 284.,661, dated November 20,1883.

Application filed February 20, 1883. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern.:

Be it known that we, JAMES. H. PURDY and CHARLnsT. NVELCH, citizens of the United States, residing at or near Belloua, in the county of Yates and State of NewYork, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Seeding-Machines; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and letters of reference marked thereon, forminga part of this our specication of said improvement, in which drawings- Figure l is a vertical central longitudinal section, from front to rear, of a boot of a seeding-machine, and having in working position,in connection therewith, a rubber or iiexible seed-delivery tube provided at its lower end with a seedseatterer, the rubber tube and the scatterer being represented partly in sec- `tion and partly in elevation. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view ofthe same, partly in cross-section, on line :c of Fig. l, and partlyin plan view. Fig. 3 is afront elevation of Fig. l',with a portion of the front of the boot broken away, so as to expose toview a part of the scattererg7 -H and Fig. tis a detached View ofthe rubber seeddelivery tube with scatterer attached, a part of each being shown in elevation as well as section.

Our improvement relates to that class of seeding-machines in which are employed a number of drills or boots arranged in rank,77 through which the seed from the hopper `passes cuits way to the ground; but as ordinarily constructed these drills or boots, at their lower ends,have working-points so made as to form,

`when in operati on, a V-shaped gutter or trench in the earth, and into the bottom or angle of which trench the seed is deposited in a massed condition, even though a scatterer be provided intheboot. This massed condition-of wheat,

`for example-when sown by the ordinary seed-drilh is subject to the objection, among others, that the stands of the grain are huddled together and do not properly develop, and in case a fertilizer be sown with the wheat, and a dry hot season ensues, the fertilizer itself contributes to injure the growing grain, since it was,with the grain, concentrated in the Vshaped trenches. In other words,when so planted, the growing grain does not receive its full proper nourishment from the earth, becomes more or lessv stunted, and consequent loss in production ensues. ,h

It is the object of our invention to overcome these objections in the cultivation of wheat and other grain; and to this end we employ a boot so constructed that when in operation on a seeding-machine it will form within the compass of itslower end a broad flat path uuder the surface of the ground, upon which the seed being sown will be scattered as the boot moves forward, a scatterer being e1nployed,in connection with the boot, at the lower end of a rubber tube, which leads the grain down from thejhopper of the seeding-machine into the boot.

In the drawings, Aindcatesaboot of a seeding-machine, adapted at its upper end tobe attached to drag-bars a c of such machines, and with an eye-lug, a2, on its rear upper por; tion, to which to apply a chain for ""elevating `the. boot when not in action, as indicated in Fig. 1. The front working end of this boot is made to slope down, as at b in Fig. 1,while sloping portions, as at b b', extend laterally a l considerable distance on either side of the front portion, b, the distance of the slope from b to b', as shown in Fig. 2, being such as will form `in the ground,when the boot is in action, the desired width of tracker path upon which to scatter the grain being sown, the width of such track which would be lmade by a boot of the size of Fig. 2 being indicated between the dotted lines y y.

Having reference to Fig. 1, B is a rubber tube, which in practice may have its upper` end secured to a cross-bar of a seedingunachine, beneath the seed-hopper of the machine, and thus be held suspended in working posi tion, as shown, while seed from the hopper is passed down through it into the boot A. The lower end of this tube, as shown, ismiadewith a circular bead, c, which is forced'down into the interior of a beaded portion, c', of a seedscatterer, D, and thus the scatterer is retained in place upon the rubber tube B within the boot A.

The seed-scatterer D is composed of a metal tube, f, which has its lower end centrally over the apex of a cone, f', the tube f and conef IOO being held in relative position by short bars, as at f'Z f2, while the upper end of the tube j' is provided with the bead c. into which the beaded end of the rubber tube B is made to seat itself, as before stated.

On both sides of the boot A we apply a coverer, C, the office of which is to cause the earth, when the boot is in usc, to pass between the body of the boot and the respective covers, and deposit itself over the grain in the broad fiat track made by the forward and laterally sloping portions b' b b of the boot. The coverers G-,are secured to flat springy pieces of metal g, which at their -upper ends maybe adjusted up and down in suitable ways, g', projecting from either side of the boot, and held in any desired position by screws g2, as indicated in Fig. 3, and thus said coverers may be made to cover the grain with more or less depth of earth, as desired.

In Fig. 2 the springy pieces of metal g are shown held in position by clamping-nut and screw.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the coverers C C, at their front ends, extend considerably forward of the longitudinal axis of the boot, and on a curve sweep around in rear of the boot A a sufficient distance to insure a proper deposit of the 'earth upon the grain throughout the whole width of thetrack shown between the dotted lines g/ y.

In operation, the boot A being moved forward in the direction of the arrow, the workinglowcr portion of the boot enters the ground, thereby plowing up the earth in front and forming beneath the boot a broad iiat track, as signified by the letter e, between the dotted lines y y, while at the same time the seed being sown passes down from the hopper of the seeding-machine, to which our boot may be applied, into and through the rubber tube B, thence on through the tube j', and, falling upon the cone f is scattered over the track c made by the boot, and as the machine goes forward the grain is covered with earth vby the coverers C, the earth being forced by the forward movement of the machine between the body of the boot A and the coverers C, the springs gg yielding laterally to accommodate the passage of f the earth from front to rear of the boot. As ,the coverers Chave their front edges extending forward of the rear portion of the sloping portions bf of the boot, the earth plowed will pass off from I/ b to a position between the body of the boot and said coverers, and so insure a return of the earth upon the grain on track e by the coverers.

In seeding-machines now in use, which employ a boot having a scatterer constructed as a fixture of the boot, inside thereof, the objection obtains that in case they become clogged with earth in the act of use, or in any other manner, it is difficult and troublesome to manipulate the boot in order to remove the obstruction, and besides this, it is more experisive to construct a boot with a seatterer attached interiorly thereto than when provided upon a flexible tube, as B; and if, as provided by us, the scatterer should become clogged while working in the field, the tube B can be readily withdrawn from the bootl and separated at the joint c c and the obstruction removed and then as readily be again replaced in working-position, as signified in Fig. l.

As shown in Fig. 2, the boot A is provided with extra screw-bolts, as o, to which the coverers, as C, may be applied, and thus make their rear portion meet, or nearly so, in rearl of the boot, when for covering purposes the same is desirable. rIhe boot A may be provided, as indicated in Fig. 5, with a block, h, extending halfway round the boot, as shown, and having vertical holes i extending through it. into which the shank of coverers may be inserted and adj usted and held in desired position by screw-bolts i', engaging with horizontal screw-holes i, and thus coverers, as C', (shown in .Figi 5,) be made to work nearer together or fartherV apart, as circumstances may require, thc coverers O being madeof springy metal, and curved, as shown, in order to shed grass and trash.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

I. A scatterer, D, applied upon and held pendent within a boot by a fiexible seed-conducting tube, B, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the iiexible seed-conducting tube B, scatterer D, and boot A, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JAMES H. PURDY. t CHARLES T. WELCH.

Vitiiesses ALvA KnTcHAM,

J AMns A. GARRIsoN. 

